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IKEA Office Built-in Organization 2020
A few years ago, I had an office built-in made with IKEA cabinets and custom shelves, in the alcove beside my fireplace. The other side already had a built-in for CDs and DVDs so that was designated the “entertainment side.” It had to look nice but ultimately it had to be functional. It had to store books and supplies and…
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“The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” – a Review
It has been a long time since I have done a book review so I think it is time. I read “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” (Margaretta Magnusson) a few years ago and decided to re-read it. She is somewhere between eighty and one hundred, and with her life experience has many practical tips on downsizing. What is…
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Organizing Papers- Create a System that Works for You
Tax season is almost upon us. If you haven’t already organized your papers and created a system to keep track of those papers, now is the time. If you have a home-based business your needs will be a little (or a lot) more complicated than if you don’t. I like to go through my filing cabinet every year, usually in…
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Gift Wrap Organization
How do your store your gift wrapping supplies? I used to keep my gift bags, bows, tags and odd papers in this red organizer bag. The cardboard box held all the tissue paper that I had left over from when I had a store years ago. Any long rolls of wrapping paper were just stored beside them in the closet…
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Organizing Christmas Decorations
The Feast of Epiphany or the Twelfth Day of Christmas (January 6th) is traditionally the day all the Christmas decorations need to be down. Well I have finally done it! I un-decorated, took my tree down, and cleaned up the Christmas holiday mess. The bins and containers I used were the same ones I have used for years. My goal…
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The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy – Reflections On the Kon Mari Method
By now, I’m sure almost everyone has heard of these books by Japanese author Marie Kondo. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up was translated into English in 2014, and it’s sequel “Spark Joy” was translated to English in 2015. Her unique spin on decluttering and organizing is called the “Kon Mari Method” based on the author’s name. I didn’t…
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Creating a Capsule Wardrobe
Creating a capsule wardrobe can simplify your life. It’s that time of year again – the seasonal closet declutter and change out, if you have your seasonal items stored away elsewhere. This year I have been exploring the concept of creating a capsule wardrobe to help simplify my life and create a wardrobe that works for me. I generally go…
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Top Ten IKEA Kitchen Organization Tips
After completing stage three of my IKEA kitchen renovation, I was finally able to get everything put away and organized! Here are my top ten IKEA kitchen organization tips to help you organize your kitchen. I had already went through all the kitchen paraphernalia I had and purged what I thought I didn’t use, wouldn’t use and didn’t love. (It…
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Under Sink Organization and Waste & Recycling System
Organizing under the kitchen sink can be challenging with all the pipes, hoses and drain taking up valuable space. Do you have a center bar like I did? I was thrilled with the improvements in my new sink cabinet. There is a lot more usable space with the drain further back. Everything is accessible now that the middle bar between…
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Garage Makeover & Organization Tips
It was a long time coming, but I finally completed my garage clean out, declutter and makeover and I just love it… To begin: Assess the situation… If your garage is like mine, a repository for things in transition, it doesn’t take long for it to become a hot mess. Even the best made plans can go awry when you…
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Five Easy Steps to Declutter and Organize Your Pantry
Are you wanting to declutter and organize your pantry? I recently decluttered and reorganized my pantry cabinets and spices… Pantry wall with microwave shelf. Step #1 is to remove everything… Take everything out and clean shelves and drawers. Measure your shelves and drawers height, width and depth. By measuring your spaces you can determine what size containers you need to…
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Fridge Organization for Optimal Food Safety/Oops…I was doing it wrong…
How do you organize the fridge for optimal food safety? After grocery shopping this week I decided this would be a good time to reorganize the fridge. After doing a little research, I realized I’ve been doing a few things wrong…oops. Have you have been making the same mistakes? Cleaning the fridge is such a fun chore…NOT! It is essential…
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Moving Tips for the Least Amount of Pain
So you’re moving… Whether you are moving onto a different phase of your life (new job, school or relationship, downsizing or up-sizing), whether you are moving down the street, across town or across the country: you NEED TO HAVE A PLAN! Sometimes the best plan is to have a professional moving company do what they do best, but you may…
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Linen Closet Organization and Refresh
With spring cleaning upon us I decided to tackle the much neglected linen closet to finally do a refresh on. Since I bought my house a few years ago, other than organizing it’s much varied contents, I have done absolutely nothing to it. Here are some basic tips to help you organize and give your linen closet a fresh new…